Source:
https://scmp.com/news/asia/australasia/article/3050939/coronavirus-beijing-urges-australia-ease-travel-ban-china
Asia/ Australasia

Coronavirus: Beijing urges Australia to ease travel ban on China travellers

  • Canberra’s move is inconsistent with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation, the Chinese ambassador said
  • Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said officials would be guided by advice from medical experts
In this January 22, 2020, photo, tourists gather to have their photos taken with the Opera House and Harbour Bridge as a backdrop in Sydney, Australia. Photo: AP

Canberra should lift its ban on the arrival of foreign nationals from mainland China, the Chinese ambassador to Australia said on Monday.

Since February 1, Australia has prevented anyone but citizens and permanent residents from entering the country directly from mainland China, citing a need to stop the spread of the novel coronavirus.

The number of cases in Australia has held steady at 15, said ambassador Cheng Jingye, and the restrictions should be eased when Canberra next reviews the policy before February 22.

“We have expressed our strong wish and hope that the Australian government in their review will take a balanced approach and remove those harsh restrictions. At the very least they should relax them,” Cheng told Sky News Australia. “It is inconsistent with the recommendations of the World Health Organisation.”

The ban on travellers arriving from mainland China was to have ended on February 15 but was extended for another week, with any further extensions to be decided on a week-to-week basis, Morrison has said.

The number of reported new infections in China’s Hubei province rose on Monday after two days of declines, as authorities imposed tough new restrictions on movement to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 disease, which has killed more than 1,700 people.

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison has said Canberra would be guided by advice from medical experts, despite growing pressure on the Australian economy.

China is Australia’s largest trading partner, sending more than 1 million tourists and students there each year.

Australia’s top central banker this month said the epidemic could shave 0.2 percentage points off Australia’s economic growth in the first quarter of this year.

About 200 Australian nationals served a 14-day quarantine on Christmas Island. Photo: EPA-EFE
About 200 Australian nationals served a 14-day quarantine on Christmas Island. Photo: EPA-EFE

Meanwhile, Morrison said more than 200 Australians quarantined at an immigration detention centre in the Indian Ocean territory of Christmas Island for two weeks would depart on Monday.

“Having to go into a quarantine period for 14 days is an inconvenience. But they understood why. They took that in good faith and I’m sure they’re looking forward to coming home,” Morrison told reporters in Melbourne.

Morrison said the detention centre would not be ready to house anyone repatriated from the Diamond Princess cruise liner in Japan.

Plans were ongoing to evacuate more than 200 of its citizens on board the ship, which has been under quarantine since arriving in Yokohama on February 3, after a man who disembarked in Hong Kong before it travelled to Japan was diagnosed with the virus.

Morrison said the passengers would depart on Wednesday and would be taken to Australia’s tropical north, where they will be required to be quarantined for another 14 days.

“For those more than 200 Australians who will be returning to Australia, we are going to have to require a further 14-day quarantine period to be put in place on their return to Darwin,” Morrison told reporters in Melbourne.

Morrison also said space on the Qantas Airways plane will be provided for an unspecified number of New Zealand citizens on the cruise ship.

Those passengers will be transferred to New Zealand when they arrive in Darwin, Morrison said.

On Sunday, the United States evacuated about 400 citizens from the Diamond Princess, while Canada, Italy, South Korea and Hong Kong have also announced plans to repatriate passengers.